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Beer Family History

Beer Name Meaning

English (West Country): habitational name from any of the forty or so places in southwestern England called Beer(e) or Bear(e). Most of these derive their names from the West Saxon dative case beara of Old English bearu ‘grove wood’ (the standard Old English dative bearwe being preserved in Barrow ). In some cases the surname may be topographic in origin from atte beare ‘at the grove’. Some may be from Middle English bere ‘woodland swine-pasture’ (Old English bǣr). Compare Bear English: variant of Bear 2 ‘bear’. North German and Dutch: from Middle Low German bāre Middle Dutch bēre ‘bear’ applied as a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way or as a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept a performing bear (compare 2 above). Alternatively it could have been a topographic or habitational name referring to a house distinguished by the sign of a bear or from an ancient Germanic personal name with this as the first element. See also Baer Bahr . Germanized form of Sorbian Běr: from a short form of the Old Sorbian personal name Běrisław (based on the Old Slavic imperative beri ‘collect’). Americanized form (translation into English) of German or Jewish (Ashkenazic) Bier or possibly of some other similar (like-sounding) surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Baer, Bear, Bier, Leer, Been, Heer, Beers, Buer, Bee, Beger

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Where is the Beer family from?

You can see how Beer families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Beer family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Beer families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 175 Beer families living in Ontario. This was about 61% of all the recorded Beer's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Beer families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Beer surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Beer ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Income were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Beer. 54% of Beer men worked as a Farmer and 20% of Beer women worked as an Income. Some less common occupations for Americans named Beer were Carpenter and Housekeeper. .

View Census Data for Beer | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    54%
  • Labourer
    9%
  • Farming
    6%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Income
    20%
  • Operator
    14%
  • Nurse
    14%
  • Housekeeper
    14%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Beer family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 128,000 census records available for the last name Beer. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Beer census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Beer

Passenger Lists

There are 22,000 immigration records available for the last name Beer. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Beer immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 24,000 military records available for the last name Beer. For the veterans among your Beer ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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What is the average Beer lifespan?

Between 1943 and 2004, in the United States, Beer life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 2002. The average life expectancy for Beer in 1943 was 38, and 79 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Beer

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